Ditka on NFL Protests: 'No Oppression in Last 100 Years'

posted by Arden Dier -

5 months ago

If Mike Ditka were still at the helm of an NFL team, he'd perhaps do more than bench athletes who disrespect the US flag during the national anthem, as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has threatened to do.

"I would say 'adios,'" the former coach and ESPN analyst said Monday. "If you don't respect our country, you shouldn't be in this country playing football. Go to another country."

Though he initially touted one's right to protest, Ditka said athletes should "respect the game" and "protest whatever other way you want to" off the field. But Ditka, an early supporter of Donald Trump, also stressed that the place to protest is at "a ballot box" and people should "respect" election outcomes, per the Washington Post.